Poultry refers to domesticated birds that are raised for their meat and eggs. The most common types of poultry are chicken, turkey, duck, goose, quail, pheasant, and guinea fowl. However, there are some differences in what parts of these birds are considered poultry meat.
Chicken
Chicken is by far the most popular type of poultry. Almost all parts of a chicken are used for meat, including:
– Breast: This is the most prized part of a chicken, known for being lean and tender. The breast includes the pectoralis major and minor muscles.
– Legs: Chicken legs include the meaty thighs and drumsticks. They have more connective tissue and fat, making them juicier.
– Wings: Chicken wings are often divided into drumettes, flats, and wingtips. They are excellent for roasting or frying.
– Giblets: Chicken giblets refer to the edible offal, usually the liver, heart, gizzard, and neck. They are nutritious and full of flavor.
So in summary, the chicken’s breast, legs, wings, and giblets are all considered poultry meat. Even the feet, head, and bones can be used for stock.
Turkey
Almost all parts of the turkey are used for meat:
– Breast: Turkey breast is the leanest part, similar to chicken breast. The whole breast includes the pectoralis major and minor.
– Legs: Turkey legs and thighs have more fat and connective tissue. They are often roasted or braised until tender.
– Wings: The wings include the drumettes, flats, and wingtips. They are best for roasting or frying.
– Giblets: The liver, heart, gizzard and neck are edible turkey giblets. The wattle and snood are also edible.
– Dark meat: This refers to the legs and thighs which are fattier and more flavorful.
So the breast, legs, wings, giblets, and dark meat of a turkey are all considered poultry meat.
Duck
The typical parts of a duck that are used as meat include:
– Breast: Duck breasts are prized for their rich, fatty qualities. They are great for pan-searing.
– Legs: Duck legs have a high ratio of fat to meat, making them flavorful and tender when braised.
– Wings: Duck wings can be prepared much like chicken wings – they are ideal for confiting.
– Giblets: The liver, heart and gizzard are edible duck giblets. Duck necks are also sometimes used.
– Fat: Duck fat is highly prized in cooking for its flavor.
– Thighs: Duck thighs are considered dark meat and are nicely tender.
So duck breast, leg, wing, giblet and thigh meat are all considered poultry.
Goose
The parts of a goose used as poultry meat include:
– Breast: Goose breasts have a rich, fatty quality perfect for roasting or braising.
– Legs: Goose legs have a high fat content and are best braised or made into confit.
– Wings: Goose wings can be prepared as confit, braised, or used for stock.
– Giblets: The neck, heart, gizzard and liver are edible goose giblets.
– Fat: Goose fat is prized for baking, frying and roasting.
Similar to duck, the breast, leg, wing, giblet and fat portions of a goose are considered poultry meat.
Quail
Unlike larger poultry, almost all parts of the quail are edible:
– Breast: The quail breast is very small but tender and lean. It is suited for quick cooking.
– Legs: Quail legs have a concentrated flavor from the bones and sinew. They are great fried or in stews.
– Wings: The tiny quail wings pack a lot of flavor. They can be roasted, grilled, or confited.
– Carcass: The small bones of the quail carcass make excellent additions to stock.
– Giblets: The heart and liver are edible quail giblets.
So the whole quail is essentially considered poultry meat.
Pheasant
Common pheasant parts used as meat:
– Breast: Pheasant breasts are prized as white meat, perfect for roasting or pan-frying.
– Legs: Pheasant legs have more flavor from the bone and sinew. They are nicely braised.
– Thighs: Pheasant thighs are darker, fattier meat well suited to braising.
– Wings: Pheasant wings can be grilled or added to stocks and stews for flavor.
– Giblets: The heart, liver, and neck are often included as edible giblets.
The breast, legs, thighs, wings and giblets of pheasant are considered poultry meat.
Guinea Fowl
The most commonly eaten parts of guinea fowl include:
– Breast: Guinea fowl breast has a mild, gamey flavor. It remains moist when roasted.
– Legs: Guinea fowl legs have deep, gamey flavor from the bone and connective tissue. They are nicely braised.
– Thighs: The thighs are darker meat and ideal for stews and braises.
– Wings: Guinea fowl wings have lots of connective tissue so are best braised or used for stock.
– Giblets: The liver, heart and neck are used as edible guinea fowl giblets.
For guinea fowl, the breast, legs, thighs, wings and giblets are considered poultry meat.
Less Common Poultry
There are some other less common domesticated birds that can also be used for their meat:
– Pigeon: Squab (young pigeon) meat is a delicacy, prepared similarly to quail. Both the breast and leg meat are valued.
– Emu: Emu meat is lean and similar to beef. The legs, breasts, and tenderloins are most commonly eaten.
– Squash: This edible game bird has tender, mild flesh. The legs and breasts are best, prepared similarly to quail.
– Poussin: A very young chicken under 28 days old. The small whole carcass is roasted.
So for less common poultry like these, the breast, leg, and tenderloin meat are generally considered poultry.
Parts Not Considered Poultry Meat
While most parts of poultry are used for food, there are a few exceptions:
– Feathers: Chicken, duck or other poultry feathers are not edible. They may be used for other purposes like stuffing pillows.
– Feet: Chicken feet are not typically eaten in Western cuisine. However, they are considered a delicacy in Asian cooking.
– Head: The head is usually removed before cooking poultry. Some specialty chefs may use the cheeks or brains, but this is less common.
– Intestines: Poultry intestines are very tough and generally not suitable for consumption. Exceptions include natural sausage casings.
– Ovaries/Testes: The reproductive organs of poultry are not eaten. They are removed during processing.
So in most cuisines, the feathers, feet, heads, intestines and reproductive organs of poultry are not considered edible meat. But there are always regional or cultural exceptions.
Conclusion
In conclusion, poultry refers to domesticated birds like chicken, turkey, duck and goose that are raised for their meat and eggs. Almost all parts of these birds can be used for food, including the breasts, legs, wings, giblets, thighs, fat and dark meat. More rarely eaten poultry like pigeon, emu and guinea fowl also have edible breast, leg and tenderloin meat. The only parts consistently not used are the feathers, feet, heads, intestines and reproductive organs. So while the types of poultry may vary, the general rule is that the muscle and offal are considered poultry meat, while the exterior parts are not. Understanding what is classified as poultry meat helps inform recipes and cooking techniques for enjoying these birds to their fullest potential.
